Automatic book feeding mechanism



Oct. 20, 1959 K. P. MARTIN ETAL 2,999,266

AUTOMATIC BOOK FEEDING MECHANISM Original Filed Feb. 14. 1955 2Sheets-Sheet l a D SMN MN m A m KENNETH F2 WALTERF! R BY ATTORNEY Oct.20, 1959 K. P. MARTIN ET AL AUTOMATIC BOOK FEEDING MECHANISM OriginalFiled Feb. 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ATTORNE United StatesPatent 2,909,266 AUTOMATIC BooK FEEDING MECHANISM Kenneth P. Martin,Concord, and Walter P. Rowland, Clinton, Mass., assignorsto The ColonialPress, Inc., Clinton, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Continuationof application Serial No. 487,928, February 14, 1955. This applicationDecember 22, 1958, Serial No. 782,323

6 Claims. (Cl. 198-21) This invention relates to a book feedingmechanism, and it comprises an automatic mechanism used in bookmanufacturing which will feed a book forward while flatwise and properlyposition it for an operational stage.

One manner of making a paper covered book comprises printing and foldingsheets'to make double length signatures and assembling them to form adouble length book. This involves the use of only one set of plates tomake two books, in which one set, for example,

prints the first pages and the other the last pages of the book. Thetypes of the two portions of each printed signature may face oppositely,so that when ultimately bound in a paper cover each side of the coveredbook presents both the front and rear covers. This procedure requirescutting the double length book at a median line between the two sectionsand thus providing two separate books from a single series of printingand assembling operations.

In making a paper covered book of this double size, the varioussignatures are assembled and their backs glued and the cover appliedthereto, after which the book is to be sawed in two and the rough edgesof the signatures trimmed off, and often the corners are rounded or thebook is subjected to other cutting operations. Heretofore, the coveredbooks have been transferred from the binding stage to a sawing or othercutting tool by means of a skid, transported by a power truck, on whichthe books are piled manually. The operator of the cutting machineremoves. the books from the skid and pushes them manually through thesaw. This is a laborious and slow operation and may involve danger. Itrequires that the books be positioned and fed accurately to a rapidlymoving band. saw; and when the operation is performed manually, eachbook, or a stack of books, must be separately handled with a consequentwaste of machine time after one book or a stack has been cut in two andwhile the operator is reaching for other books located on the skid nearhim. The term book as used herein applies either to a single book lyingflatwise on its side or to a stack of books piled one on the other to aheight within the capacity of the feeding mechanism.

One object'of this invention is to provide an auto- Ice which positivelypushes books flatwise towards the cutting tool and wherein only one bookis delivered at a time to the pusher.

Another object is to provide-such a book cutting machine with a conveyorarranged to feed books progressively to a pusher mechanism whichdelivers the books serially in a timed relationship as required by thecutting tool. Other objects will be apparent in the followingdisclosure.

In accordance with this invention, we have provided a book feedingmechanism in which books are fed progressively to a cyclically operatedpusher while flatwise or lying on their sides, and only one book ispushed at a time towards a subsequent manufacturing operation. The booksare delivered to that pusher by a conveyor, such as a traveling endlessbelt, on which the books may be placed on their sides but withoutreference to their spacing. A book cutting operation, such as by meansof a cutting tool, including a saw, knives, and the like, requires thatthe book be fed thereto both flatwise and properly positioned. Hence,the pusher is required both to move the book-forward and to locate itproperly for that operation. In order that only one book, or a stack ofbooks, may be pushed forward at a single time, we have provided areleasable stop mechanism which holds the books relative to apreliminary conveyor system and serves to release one at a time and in atimed relationship -with the forward movement of the pusher, so that1l1e latter may engage the rear edges of the flatwise book and move itforward. Also, the pusher is so moved in a cyclic operation that itreturns out of the forward feeding path of the books and appears at therear of the book just as the released book is presented by the conveyorfor that purpose. The book may be cut in two by a saw, or it may be cutby trimming knives which shear off the rough edges of the assembledsignatures, or a suitable cutting tool may shape the book corners orperform other desired operations. In our machine, a secondary pusher isprovided for feeding the book forward to the cutting tool, and this islikewise controlled automatically so that the progress of the book fromthe preliminary conveyor to the cutting tool is automaticallycontrolled.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate this'invention as applied toa book sawing machine:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a feeding and sawing machine embodyingthis invention;

matic feeding mechanismwhich will receive books from and fed forward asrequired in a second stage pushing operation which insures that only" asingle book is fed at a time and the operation proceeds smoothly withthebooks in close sequence. 1 1

A still further object is to provide a book cutting machine with anautomatically operated .mechanism Fig. 2 is a top plan view of themachine;

Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly broken away to show details;

Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram for the automatic control of the book feedingmechanism;

Fig. 5 is a wiring diagram for the automatic control of the sawoperation; and

Fig. 6 is a detail of a modified book release mechanism.

In the construction illustrated, the books are fed to a correct positionfor movement intoa cutting tool, such as a saw, by means of a cyclicallyoperated, continuously moving pusher 1i), and the books 11 are deliveredto that pusher in a required'timed relationship from a preliminaryconveyor, shown as a power driven endless belt 12. The

' pusher 10 may be a peg moved progressively in a cyclic path by a powerdriven endless belt orchain 13-. As shown, the chain is mounted'abovethe path of book travel and the pusher 10 depends vertically therefrom.The cutting tool is shown as an endless band saw 15 0f standardconstruction and driven by'power mechanism as is well understood, andwhich issuit ably mounted for a vertical downward movement through anarrow opening -16 in the horizontal tabletop 17 over which the booksareto bepushed by a pusher 20 which is mounted for sliding movementover-the table?- The pusher 20 is a vertical plate having a stop plate21 adjustably connected at right angles thereto, which provides alocating corner in which a book of any length may be positionedaccurately for the sawing operation. A piston rod 22, moved by a fluidpressure actuated device 24 mounted above the table 17, serves to drawthe pusher 20 forward to a final position, shown in dotted lines in Fig.2, just short of touching the saw and to feed the book either entirelythrough the saw or to a position where the next book in the series willpush the one ahead of it to its final sawed condition.

The power driven belt 12 may be of standard construction, such as awoven cotton belt, suitably mounted on axles or rollers 26 (Fig. 3)which are driven by a suitable power mechanism, comprising a motordriven gear or pulley 28 fixed to the shaft of one of the rollers. Thepower drive for this belt may be a suitably mounted constant speedelectric motor which will drive the books forward at the same rate or ata greater. speed than that of the pushing movement of the peg 10.

A major feature of the construction comprises the cyclically andprogressively moved peg which travels in such a path that it may engagean edge portion of the horizontal book and thrust the book forward intothe locating corner of plates and 21. The pusher peg, as shown, dependsfrom the chain 13, and the latter is suitably mounted to travel aroundsprockets 29 fixed on vertical axles 30 which are mounted on a plate 31ad justably positioned on the framework of the machine above the booktraveling space. on brackets 32 (Fig. 3) suitably carried by the machinebase, and the plate and brackets have elongated slots (not shown)arranged at right angles and connecting bolts in the slots which providefor adjusting the plate and moving the chain and its peg eitherlongitudinally or transversely of the path of book movement. The plate31 carries a constant speed electric motor 33 of suitablecharacteristics which is belt connected to a suitable reduction gearsystern 34 arranged to drive the right hand shaft 30.

The pusher peg 10 is so mounted on the endless chain 13 that it travelsin an endless path in such a position that it engages the rear cornerportion of a book fed thereto by the traveling belt 12. That is, thebelt moves the book forward in a flatwise condition, i.e., on its face,and thrusts it onto a platform 36 beneath the peg driving chain 13 andto the full length of the book beyond the right hand end position of thepeg 10 as it is moved around by the endless belt 18, whereby the peg mayengage the rear of the book and shove it over the bottom plate 36 andonto the plate 17 constituting the platform of the sawing machine.

A side wall 37 and an adjustable plate 38 form with the bottom plate 36a trough within which the book is pushed. The adjustable vertical sidewall 38 is a plate pivotally mounted at 39 on a vertical pin carried bythe base. It is adjusted by a nut and screw combination 40 suitablycooperating with a vertical lug 41 on the framework, so that the plate38 may be adjusted to present a narrowing trough of required width forthe moving book. The outer left hand end of that plate 38 carries abrush 42 having its bristles projecting into frictional engagement withthe book. This is intended for use when books are piled carelessly oneabove the other in a stack, so as to provide enough friction against therough uncut edges of the books to hold each book back against the pusherpeg 10 and thus present the books to the pusher 20 in substantiallyvertical alignment.

The chain 13 and peg 10 are so adjusted that the pusher peg will movethe book into the corner between the pusher plate 20 and the side wall21. The wall 21 is also adjustable for different book sizes. That is, aplate 42 (Fig. 2) is fixed at right angles to the pusher plate 20 andthe plate 21 is adjustably carried by plate 42 and suitably spacedtherefrom by a suitable nut and screw 43 and a compression coiled spring44 which serve to The plate 31 is mounted support the plate 21 in adesired position and provide a slight yielding against the thrust of anoversized book. The screw provides for adjusting the position of plate21 for various sizes of books.

A further feature of the invention involves a releasable stop mechanismwhich temporarily holds a book stationary on the belt 12 movingtherebeneath until the pusher peg 10 is ready to feed the book forwardto the pusher plate 20, after the latter has returned to its inoperativeposition for receiving another book to be sawed. The mechanism shownparticularly in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, comprises a stationary plate 45projecting out over the belt '10 and in a position where a book cannotpass the stop plate until the book has been released. To make sure thatthe book cannot escape past the stop accidentally, an adjustableswinging plate 46 (Fig. 2) is pivoted on a vertical pin 47 and adjustedto a suitable position by nuts 48 suitably carried by a threaded member49 pivotally connected to the plate and engaging opposite sides of a lug50 projecting upwardly from a base plate 5 1 of the feeder mechanism.This plate 46 and a similar swinging plate 52 are mounted the same asthe plate 38 and each is so positioned as to insure a correct positionfor the book. The plate 52 is so adjusted as to permit the book to bemoved laterally off the stop 45, when it is to be released. The plate 46thrusts the books laterally towards the near side wall 54 (Fig. 2) sothat each book is directed against the stop 45. The operator of themachine may thus feed books to the endless belt 10 without reference tothe action of the pusher peg 10 and each book will come up against thestop 45 and stay there until released.

The releasing of the book past the stop plate 45 may be effected by apusher 56 which shoves the book laterally from behind the stop. As shownin Figs. 2 and 4, the pusher is a vertical plate parallel with the sidewall 54 of the trough in which the books are fed and inside of the plate58 forming a continuation of wall 54. That plate 56 is carried on asliding piston rod 59 passing through the fixed wall 58 to which thestop 45 is attached. The plate 56 rests in a recess in that wall 58 wheninoperative. The stop release pusher is moved by a suitable fluidpressure mechanism, such as one comprising the piston 60 which, as showndiagrammatically in Fig. 4, travels within a suitable piston cylinder 61and is moved one way or, the other by fluid under pressure, such as airor oil, as permitted by a valve control mechanism. When the fluidpressure actuated piston 60 is moved to thrust the plate 56 outwardly,this shoves the book out from behind the stop 45 and permits thecontinuously traveling belt 12 to feed it forward for a further movementby the peg 10.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 2 that the traveling belt '12 willthrust the book over the table 36 to a position where it is at the leftof the right hand position of the peg 10 as it travels in its cyclicpath on the chain 13. That peg 10 thus is intended to travel around in abook thrusting direction while engaging the far rear corner portion ofthe book, and the peg then returns in an inoperative position outside ofa vertical wall plate 37. That wall plate is almost in line with the endof the stop '45 and so positioned that when a book is released from thestop 45 it will necessarily travel to the far side of that plate '37.Hence, when the book has been thrust forward to a peg pushing positionby the traveling belt 12, the peg 10 will come from behind the verticalplate 37 and pass to the rear of the book and so engage and push itforward as the peg makes its effective cyclic motion. The plate 38 istherefore so adjusted that it permits the book to pass between the plate37 and the brush 42 on the end of the swinging plate 38. The latter willof course be adjusted to a position which requires the book to sweepacross the brush and be held substantially against the plate 37 and sobe properly directed into the corner of pusher plates 20 and 21.

' teristics.

The fixed plate 37 is arranged well forwardof the inoperative positionof the pusher plate 20 so as to make sure that the book will fall intoposition in front of that pusher plate. In order to make sure that thebook goes into the corner between plates 20 and 21, the peg and itsassociated chain 13 are arranged so that the peg engages the far rearcorner (Fig. 2) of the bookand thus tends to push the book sideways assoon as ithas moved beyond the plate 37. Hence, as indicated bythedotted outlines in Fig. 2, the left hand position of the peg is suchthat the peg sweeps across the end of the book and thus carries the nearrear end of the .book directly towards the plate 20. If desired, aseries of pegs may be mounted on the chain' 13, one back of the other,so that each peg will sweep across the rear book edge and make sure thatit is thrust up into position against the plate 20 and into the cornerof plates 20 and 21. These pegs may be made of suitable material whichwill provide the necessary frictional eflortfor the purpose. Hence, thatcyclic motion of the peg around the left hand'sprocket pusher peg '10and the release of the book from the stop '45, the peg 10 is arranged tostrike a suitable electric switch, such as a micro-switch, whichacts'through solenoids 64 and 65 (Fig. 4) to govern the position of avalve stem 66 provided with suitable valve pistons 67 and 68 arrangedthereon within the valve piston chamber to control the in-flow of fluidunder pressure, such as compressed air or oil to one side or the otherof the pistons. The micro-switch, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 4,comprises a spring urged swinging switch member 70 which is adapted tobe moved by peg '10 or other contact member on the chain 13 so as toswing from a neutral position into engagement with a contact 69 andcomplete a circuit to the solenoid 64, between the electric lines 'L andL of suitable direct currentcharac- When the peg '10 starts in a bookpushing direction (see the arrow in Fig. 4), it strikes the switch arm70 and momentarily closes the circuit against the urge of spring 71.This energizes the solenoid 64 and draws the piston rod '66 towards theleft and s0 causes fluid under pressure to be admitted, as indicated bythe arrows and fluid passages, to the rear of piston 60 and so thrustthe piston rod 59 and the pusher plate 56 out- 'wardly to move thestationary book from behind the stop 4'5. The switch arm returns to abroken circuit position.

The return movement of the stop releasing pusher 56 is effected by meansof a stationary contact member 74 mounted on the end of a rod 75 whichslidably passes through a hole in the plate58. The contact element 74 onthat rod is so located that when the plate 56 reaches its forwardposition to thrust the book from behind the stop 45, a spring urgedswitch arm 76 (Fig. 4) of another micro-switch is thrust against thecontact 77 to complete a circuit between the power line and the righthand solenoid 65, as indicated by the dotted lines. This moves the valvestem 66 to the dotted line positions of the pistons 67 and 68 and thuspermits the fluid under pressure to enter the left hand passage and sotravel to the rear of the piston and thus move the book releasing plate56 to an inoperative position. This swinging arm 76 is spring urged toaneutral position as soon as the contact 74 moves out of the way and thusbreaks the circuit and leaves the valve stem ready to be moved by theother solenoid 64. Hence the pusher 56 is operated in timed relationwith the movement of the traveling peg 10.

The micro-switch is so mounted that the peg 10 will 1 'i 6 purpose andthat the platform 31 carrying the chain and peg will be adjusted to aproper position for this timing relationship. It will also be understoodthat various valve and switch constructions may be employed within theknowledge of one skilled in the art for effecting these desiredpurposes, the principles of which are set forth herein. After the bookhas been pushed away from the stop 45, it is moved'forward by thetraveling belt 12 until it is far enough to the left for the pusher pin10 to pass to the rear of the released book and move it forward acrossthe stationary platform 19 of the saw table into the corner betweenplates 20 and 21.

The pusher plate 20 is operated automatically when the book engages aspring urged lever (Figs. 2 and 3) of a micro-switch which projectsthrough a hole in the table 17 near the book locating corner and is soarranged that the sliding book throws the switch when it comes to aproper, pushing position. The micro-switch thus completes a powercircuit with a solenoid 82 (Fig. 5) which actuates the valve stem 83 ofa valve arranged to direct fluid under pressure to the rear side of thepiston in the fluid pressure-mechanism 24 indicated by the positions ofvalves and passages in Fig. 5. This causes the piston rod 22 to draw theplate 20 forward and thrust the book in its fiat position against thesaw 15. The micro-switch returns to. a neutral position when released bythe book moving forward toward the saw. I

The return stroke is caused by another micro-switch. The plate 20 has anarm 86 (Figs. 1 and 5) which moves on'the stationary guide rod 88 andcarries a contact 89 so arranged as to throw the spring urged switch arm90 of the micro-switch when the book has moved forward into the saw.makes a power circuit with the solenoid 92 which shifts the valves onstem 83 to the dotted line positions and causes a return movement of theplunger plate 20 to a book receiving position. The spring in themicro-switch breaks the circuit when the part 89 is withdrawn. The bookmay be guided in its passage into the saw by a suitably adjustedswinging plate 94 as indiably located over the belt 12 and in the pathof the traveling books thereon. When a book is to be released, actuationof the coordinated micro-switch 70 (Fig. 4) causes the operating pistonin the chamber 102 to withdraw the stop. This requires reversing thevalve and solenoid mechanisms of Fig. 4 to pull the stop rearwardlyinstead of thrusting it forward when the valve solenoid is energized. Assoon as the stop has been pulled back and the book has passed, thepiston returns the stop into the path of the next oncoming book.

The operation of the device will be apparent in view of the abovedisclosure. Books are deposited on the continuously traveling belt 12.Each book is normally directed against the stop 45 by the swinging plate52 and it is held there on the moving belt until released. The bookpusher 10, as his moved in a forward book pushing direction at aconstant speed by its supporting belt or chain 13, strikes the movablearm 70 of the micro-switch which is suitably mounted for that purpose.This causes anfelect'ric circuit to, energize the solenoid 64 and movethe controlling valve stem 68 to permit fluid under pressure to enterbehind the piston 60 and thrust the pusher plate 56 outwardly and sorelease a book from the stop 45. As the book releasing plate 56 movesthe book away from the stop 45, the contact member 74 moved by the plate56 causes the arm 76 of another micro-switch (Fig.

"7 4) to energize the solenoid 65 and reverse the valve positions, so asto draw the pusher plate 56 back to an inoperative position and permitanother book to be received by the stop.

The released book is guided by the adjusted swinging plate 52 to aposition at the far side of the trough Wall 37 (Fig. 2) which projectsupwardly from the fixed table top 36. The endless belt 12 projects farenough to the left, so that the book is forced by the belt to move overthe table top 36 to a position where the peg 10 after its return passageoutside of the wall 37 may move to the rear of the book and engage itnear a corner. If several books are piled in a stack, the friction ofthe brush 42 against their side edges will aid in moving all of thebooks back snugly against the pushing peg 10. Since the book is beingpushed near its rear corner, then, as shown by the dotted line positionsof two books in Fig. 2, the books are thrust over the table 17 of thesawing machine and the off-center thrust of the peg 10 will force thebook to move laterally up into the corner between the pusher plate 20and the adjustable plate 21. As the peg 10 swings around the left handgear 29, it wipes across the end edges of the book and so swings thatbook fully against the pusher plate 20.

While the book is being positioned in the corner of the pusher plates,the micro-switch arm 80 projecting upwardly through a hole in the table17 is moved to energize the solenoid 82 (Fig. and thrust the valve stemto such a position that the fluid under pressure is introduced at therear of the piston in the cylinder 24. This draws the plate 20 forwardand forces the book into the saw. When the pusher and sawing movementhas been completed, the arm 89 carried by the pusher closes themicro-switch 90 and energizes the solenoid 92 and thus causes areversing movement of the valve stem and the introduction of fluid underpressure to the opposite end of the piston chamber which will cause thepusher plate 20 to return to its original inoperative position. Thevarious parts of the pusher mechanism are operated in timedrelationship, and that timing is preferably caused by the movement ofthe book or-of the pusher associated therewith. These parts are soarranged that only one book may be fed at a time and each pusher will bein an inoperative position when the book is presented to it so that itmay perform its function unhampered.

'It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made in thisconstruction in order to provide an intermittently acting pusher, suchas the cylically traveling peg 10, which will feed one book at a timeforward into a proper position for a further pushing movement towards anoperating tool. Also, the preliminary conveyor may be variouslyconstructedto present books to a suitable releasable stop mechanismwhich is timed to furnish books one at a time to the pusher. Hence, thepreliminary feeding and releasable stop mechanisms may be suitablymodified for that delivery purpose.

It will also be understood that this mechanism applies to all types ofbooks, whether paper bound or perfect bound and whether the signaturesare held by glue or by sewing threads. Furthermore, the apparatus isdesigned for locating and moving a book-fiatwise into a given positionfor various types of operations in addition to the cutting operationsabove specified. Hence, the reference to cutting the book is to beinterpreted broadly as applying to various types of subsequentoperations for which the mechanism is adapted in its presenting the bookin a fiatwise condition to a gauge or to a tool. Furthermore, the pushermay be variously constructed as a body of suitable material, such asmetal, wood or rubber, having a plain or a knurled surface, or othertypes of shaped article, such as a brush having a cylindrical periphery'of bristles, and which will provide the desired frictional contactwith'the edges of the books.

The above disclosure is, therefore, to be interpreted as setting forththe principles of the invention and preferred embodiments thereof andnot as imposing limitations on the appended claims.

This case is a continuation of our copending patent application'SerialNumber 487,928, filed February 14, 1955, now abandoned.

We claim:

1. A feeder for feeding a book to a book cutting tool, said feedercomprising a reciprocable plunger arranged to locate and feed the bookfiatwise and accurately, fluid pressure actuated mechanism to move theplunger yieldingly, means including a cyclically traveling pusherarranged to engage the rear of a book and push it to the plunger, acontrol mechanism governed by the forward movement of the book intoposition in front of the plunger which causes the plunger to move thebook forward, an endless conveyor for moving books progressively intoposition in front of the pusher, a stop normally positioned in the pathof movement of a book to hold it stationary relative to the conveyor,release mechanism to release a book from the stop and means governingsaid release mechanism in timed relation with the pusher movement whichinsures that a book is presented in front of the pusher for presentationto the plunger.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the endless conveyor ismounted to move about spaced axes with only one run of the conveyoradjacent to the book path, and the pusher is carried ina dependingrelationship therefrom, and wherein the pusher is so positioned that itengages only the rear of a book on its forward run adjacent said path.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 comprising walls moved with theplunger which form a book locating corner and relatively stationaryguide walls which insure that the depending pusher engages the book offcenter and near a corner and so wipes across the book during its forwardmovement and moves it laterally into a correct position relative to thelocating corner.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the traveling pusher isarranged to engage a corner edge of the book and to move the booklaterally and position it relative to said locating walls.

5. A feeder for feeding a book to a cutting tool, said feeder comprisinga reciprocable plunger arranged to feed a book fiatwise, a fluidpressure operated device to reciprocate the plunger, a valve mechanismto control the fluid pressure and cause a forward and reverse movementof the plunger, an electrical control mechanism including a solenoid tooperate the valve and a switch engageable by a book presented intoposition in front of the plunger to energize the solenoid which governssaid device, a cyclically traveling pusher to present a book to saidreciprocable plunger, a conveyor for feeding books to the travelingpusher and a releasable stop mechanism operated in timed relation withand governed by the traveling pusher to release one book at a time onthe conveyor for movement by the traveling pusher.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 comprising a fluid pressure operatedbook releasing device associated with the stop which moves to release abook, and an electrical mechanism for controlling the book releasingdevice .including a switch which is operated in timed relation Noreferences cited.

